Defining the Role of the Sympathetic Nervous System in Leukocyte Migration In Vivo

Abstract

The nervous system and the immune system are intricately linked, with neurotransmitters controlling many aspects of leukocyte biology. Recently, we have shown that leukocyte migration patterns from murine blood to tissues fluctuate over 24h, exhibiting peak numbers in blood during the day and a trough in the night. How neural signaling pathways are involved in these circadian oscillations remains to be elucidated. Here, we investigated the effect of sympathetic nervous system manipulations on the circadian migration behavior of leukocyte subsets in vivo. Stimulation of specific β‐adrenoreceptors drastically influenced blood leukocyte numbers in a subset‐specific manner. Using systematic adoptive transfer assays of leukocytes combined with flow cytometric analyses we could attribute this to an increased capacity of blood leukocyte subsets to emigrate into organs. We furthermore investigated this migratory homing behavior of leukocyte subsets in real time using intravital microscopy of different tissues and focusing on the effect on different steps of the leukocyte adhesion cascade. Together, our investigations provide mechanistic insights into the leukocyte‐subset specific migration behavior after sympathetic stimulation.Support or Funding InformationWe are very thankful for our funding agencies: European Research Council (ERC), Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Integrated Research Training Group 914 / Sonderforschungsbereich 914 of the Ludwig‐Maximilians‐Universitaet Muenchen, International Max Planck Research School for Life SciencesThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.